PRESS RELEASE
   
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 15, 2010
ASPCA Selects Miami-Dade County as Newest Partner Community
Partnership Aims to Increase Adoptions, Decrease Euthanasia
NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that Miami-Dade County has been selected as the newest ASPCA Partner Community – one of 10 communities nationwide currently working with the ASPCA to provide positive outcomes for at-risk and homeless pets.
The ASPCA partnership will include the following Miami-area animal welfare agencies: Miami-Dade Animal Services (county-run and operated); the Humane Society of Greater Miami (a non-profit shelter); and The Cat Network (a local spay/neuter and TNR group).
“We are thrilled to be working with Miami-Dade County on this new partnership,” said ASPCA President & CEO Ed Sayres. “We are extremely hopeful that these agencies – which have already displayed tremendous growth potential by collaborating on joint adoption events and spay/neuter clinics – will continue to build on those accomplishments and affect positive changes for animals most at-risk in the Miami community.”
“Our community is honored and grateful to be an ASPCA Partner and looking forward to a collaboration that will ultimately decrease the euthanasia rate of our shelter pets,” stated Dr. Sara Pizano, Director of Miami-Dade Animal Services.
“Homelessness is the number one risk factor for companion animals in the United States,” added Mr. Sayres. “We know there are no ‘quick fixes’ to ending the unnecessary euthanasia of unwanted pets, but we do know, and have proof, that collaboration among all groups in striving to reduce the unnecessary euthanasia of these animals can work. We believe that our partnership in Miami will enable our partners to save even more lives.”
Since 2007, the ASPCA has been lending its support, financially and through training and other human resources, to communities around the country with the goal of helping them save more animals. The ASPCA’s work focuses a collective effort on sustainable, data-driven plans and programs that engage the community in providing positive outcomes for these animals.
Since the ASPCA began its Partner Community program in 2007, nearly 700,000 animals have been adopted, returned to owners, or spay/neutered as a result of the exceptional collaboration among partner agencies in each community.
In addition to Miami, Fla., the ASPCA’s Partner Communities are Austin, Texas; Buncombe County, N.C.; Charleston, S.C.; Cleveland, Ohio; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Sacramento, Calif.; Shelby County, Ala.; Spokane, Wash.; and Hillsborough County, Fla. The ASPCA’s investment in these partnerships—in the form of direct grants, capacity-building, training, ASPCA staff expertise, and strategic planning—varies from a one- to five-year period to address homeless animal issues in each community.
Media Contact: Alison Zaccone, (212) 876-7700 ext, 4568, alisonz@aspca.org
About the ASPCA®
Founded in 1866, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) is the first humane organization established in the Americas and serves as the nation’s leading voice for animal welfare. One million supporters strong, the ASPCA’s mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. As a 501 [c] [3] not-for-profit corporation, the ASPCA is a national leader in the areas of anti-cruelty, community outreach and animal health services. The ASPCA, which is headquartered in New York City, offers a wide range of programs, including a mobile clinic outreach initiative, its own humane law enforcement team, and a groundbreaking veterinary forensics team and mobile animal CSI unit. For more information, please visit www.aspca.org.
About Miami-Dade Animal Services Department
Miami-Dade Animal Services is responsible for enforcing Chapter V, as well as Florida Statute 828, which deals primarily with animal cruelty issues. Each year, the shelter impounds more than 34,000 pets. The goal at Animal Services is to reunite lost pets with their families or find life-long homes for as many animals as possible. Related links: www.miamidade.gov/animals or call Miami-Dade’s Answer Center at 3-1-1.
About The Humane Society of Greater Miami Adopt-A-Pet
The Humane Society of Greater Miami Adopt-A-Pet is a limited admit, adoption guarantee facility dedicated to placing every dog and cat in their care into a loving home, and to promoting responsible pet ownership and spay/neuter programs. For more information: www.humanesocietymiami.org
About The Cat Network, Inc.
The Cat Network, Inc. is dedicated to humanely reducing cat overpopulation by educating the public about the need to sterilize their pets and strays; providing access to low-cost spay/neuter services for stray, homeless and abandoned cats; helping members in their efforts to place adoptable cats in loving homes; and advocating non-lethal population control and humane public policy. For more information: www.thecatnetwork.org
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The Humane Society of Greater Miami Adopt-A-Pet is a limited admit, adoption guarantee facility dedicated to placing every dog and cat in our care into a loving home, and to promoting responsible pet ownership and spay/neuter programs.
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